Casual Encounters
by redambition
Summary: Finn is a newly signed Football star, and Rachel is an up and coming Broadway Actress. When chance encounters bring them together, attraction, confusion, and lies become a part of the mix, shaking things up more than either of them were prepared for.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Glee. **_

_**Credit to Finchel Prompts for this idea. I know absolutely nothing about Football, aside from the fact that I love The Carolina Panthers (there's always next year) so please don't crucify me if some of my information is incorrect, it's just a story! That being said, I hope you enjoy! (Revised edit!)  
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"Finn, will you please put a shirt on."

"What do you mean, I do have on a shirt" Finn answered, pulling at the edge of his plaid over-shirt as if to prove to himself that he was indeed clothed.

"I meant please put on a shirt that is socially acceptable. Really Finn, I don't know how we're brothers." Kurt sighed, walking over to his brothers' closet.

"Because your dad married my mom, that's how. And you're supposed to accept me as I am" Finn said weakly, already stripping the shirt off of his body that he knew he would end up changing anyway.

"You've been living with me for the last six months and I haven't thrown out all of your clothes or ridiculous valuables while you were sleeping; I would call that complete acceptance."

Finn rolled his eyes, grumbling under his breath about his missing Yoda action figure, but proceeded to let Kurt pick out his outfit.

"I don't see why I have to dress any certain way, we're just going to Starbucks. I've already been signed to the team, I'm pretty sure they won't cut me for wearing plaid and being comfortable." Finn mumbled, pulling on the quarter sleeve deep blue button up.

"That's not the point Finn. What you don't realize about being signed to the Jets is that you're going to be in the eye of the media constantly, at their mercy. Status is beyond vital, so you have to look presentable at all times, no exceptions" the smaller boy chided, adjusting Finn's collar and smoothing out the shirt. "There, much better."

"Are you sure, I could pull out my suit from Mom and Burt's wedding" Finn mocked.

"Don't tempt me. Now, if we are to be attacked by paparazzi or reporters, what's our plan?"

"Uhh, I hadn't really thought any farther than my Frappuccino with extra chocolate…"

Kurt dropped his head in despair at his brother. "Honestly, I don't know what you'd do without me. If we are swarmed, I'll smile and offer statements for you, acting as sort of, a publicist if you will. And you just smile, and look like the charming, doofy jock that you are; simple. You'll be appealing to the homosexual fan base by having me, as well as all of the hopeless women in the world who swoon over that half-smile you do" he concluded, picking up his keys.

"Sounds like you got this all figured out" Finn commented, raising an eyebrow at Kurt.

"I've been preparing for this life since I was four years old Finn, I'm a media whore. Speaking of which, you should be prepared at some point to be asked about your relationship status. If word spreads about Quinn…"

"It won't" Finn snapped, opening the door to walk out of the house.

His wounds from his ex-girlfriend Quinn were still a little sore. They had dated for over a year and a half, then just a few months ago, he'd found out that their whole relationship had been a lie. She had been cheating on him for most of it, and ended up getting pregnant for whoever the mystery guy was, trying to pass it off as Finn's baby. He believed her at first, buying baby things and moving in with her so that they could start their family. Kurt was his saving grace though. As soon as he found out, and helped Finn realize that the only time Quinn could have possibly conceived was during the time that Finn was away at training, the truth boiled up to the surface. He immediately moved out of her home, and having nowhere to go found himself with Kurt. It wasn't exactly the most favorable of arrangements, but it worked for now. Finn stayed so busy training, and preparing for the season, where he was living was one of the last things on his mind for a while.

Now that things were finally settled, and he knew that he would be able to support himself sufficiently, he could finally think about things like finding a new apartment, or a car. This was going to be great, he just knew it. All he had to do was deal with Kurt's crazy, and the apparent drama that being a target of the media would bring him. Should be easy enough.

"Alright, well that settles that. Let's go get some coffee and recognition" Kurt cheered, cranking up his car and pulling out of the drive.

* * *

><p>Rachel handed her fee to the cab driver, and stepped out onto the street. Almost two years she had been living in New York and it was still every bit as exhilarating as it had been that first day. She loved the air, the noise, the smells; she took every bit of it in and breathed it like it was her lifeline.<p>

She smiled to herself as she walked, trying to maintain both a bubbly and professional aura. Now that she was in the making of being a star, she would need to look approachable to the paparazzi and Broadway groupies who were bound to follow her. Just two weeks ago she had gotten the call that she'd won the part of Wendla in 'Spring Awakening' on Broadway, and she couldn't be happier. All the work that she had done to get to this point, the grueling practices, and the countless vocal and dance classes, all culminated to today; her first day of rehearsals for an actual Broadway musical.

Keeping her show-face on, Rachel made her way into the Starbucks in desperate need of her coffee. She had always been a morning person, she didn't need the coffee to wake her up or rejuvenate her; it just gave her an extra push, more energy. She decided, that with the money she would be making now doing this show, she could treat herself to Starbucks coffee every morning instead of the cheap brand she usually bought from the local grocery, she deserved it.

The first thing she noticed as she walked through the door was the very tall, _very _attractive man standing off to the side of the counter. He was holding what looked like mocha, and a Frappuccino drowned in chocolate and caramel.

She tipped her head to the side as she studied him, taking in his broad, muscular frame, and his chiseled jaw. A smaller, well dressed man approached him as she stared, sidling up to the man and taking the second drink. Her amusement increased as she watched the small man look down at his drink, proceeding to swat at his partner. He looked away, pointing towards the counter again, and when his head was turned the smaller man snuck a sip from the drink in his hands.

Ah, so they _are _partners.

Rachel giggled at the oddly matched pair as she made her way to the counter, noticing the small man now dusting off his boyfriends' shoulders and adjusting his jacket.

"Hi, welcome to Starbucks, what can I get for you?"

"I would just like a grande coffee, black" she said, taking out her wallet to pay then stepping off to the side.

"Excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt, but I didn't want whipped cream on this mocha, he's allergic to it" she heard the tall man say over the counter, handing the drink to the cashier.

"Sorry sir, we'll get that fixed for you" he answered, quickly taking the drink from him.

"That was sweet" Rachel commented to the small man next to her, checking his reflection in a compact mirror.

"Huh? Oh, yes, he has his moments I suppose" he answered, finally looking up at her. "Oh my holy Barbara, you're Rachel Berry?"

She smiled at the recognition, lifting her chin a little higher in the air. "That would be me; may I ask how you know me? Are you an actor?"

"I wish" he breathed, taking a step closer to her. "I work as an intern for a magazine right now but I troll the Broadway blogs and upcoming events like it's nobody's business. Oh my God, I can't believe I'm standing here talking to a real Broadway actress" he said, fanning himself slightly.

"A who?" a masculine voice came from behind him, carrying a new mocha.

"Finn, meet Rachel Berry, she's the phenomenal newcomer starring in 'Spring Awakening' on Broadway I told you about" he announced, nudging his partner in the side as he just stared at her. Apparently he was a big fan too, he looked speechless.

"Yeah, right, Broadway." He stuttered, clearly in awe of her status as well.

"And I'm Kurt Hummel, how rude of me to not introduce myself sooner." He said, offering his hand to her before pulling her in for a hug.

"It's very nice to meet you both" she laughed, pulling back from his surprisingly strong grasp. Upon release she looked to Finn.

"Finn Hudson" he announced, stepping forward awkwardly, expecting a hug too. She complied, leaning into his side and trying not to read too much into the whole thing. He was obviously homosexual, and his boyfriend was standing right next to her.

"_Grande Coffee, Black!" _

Rachel pulled back as her order was called. "Well that's me."

"Of course, of course" Kurt said, not making any attempt to move.

"Come on; let's let the lady go before she gets a restraining order or something" Finn chuckled, taking Kurt by the arm and turning him towards the door.

"No, it's always nice to meet a fan" she said graciously as she walked toward the counter and took her drink.

"Goodbye!" Kurt called back to her.

She laughed, watching Finn pull his partner out of the shop, throwing an adorable smile of apology to her over his shoulder as they went.

"So, what do you know about that girl in there, Rachel?" Finn asked casually, buckling himself into Kurt's car.

"What don't I know about her? She's new to the Broadway stage, but she made a name for herself in a few off-Broadway productions before this. Her voice is supposed to be phenomenal, and she's going to be the next big thing. She's a vegetarian, loves animals like people, and she's extremely supportive of the LGBT community. Speaking of which, are you going with me to the mixer tomorrow night?"

"Uh, do you think she will be there?"

"Don't even think about it Finn, she's not interested" Kurt warned, noticing the starstruck gaze Finn was sporting.

"What, how do you know? Does she have a boyfriend?"

"No, not according to the blogs, but you can never really be sure. Celebrities are so secretive about their relationships, she could have a husband in Milwaukee, or a secret girlfriend living with her; you never know. What I do know is that she's very professional, and rumored to be pretty intense."

"She kinda sounds like you, only with boobs."

"I'm going to choose to take that as a compliment. But I'm serious Finn, I wouldn't even try. I doubt she would be interested in a jock anyway, it didn't seem like she even knew who you were. I must say, it would make for a very interesting relationship though" he mused. "The charming, easy going jock and the intense diva; it would be like media gold. But, don't get your hopes up."

* * *

><p>Rachel walked out of the shop, immediately pulling up the Google browser on her phone. The picture of unkempt hair, chestnut eyes, and dimples driving her to type 'Finn Hudson' into the search engine. It was wrong, on so many levels, but she just couldn't help herself.<p>

She clicked on the first article she found, and learned that Finn had just very recently been signed on to the New York Jets, a football team. It was surprising, but then again he did have a very impressive physique, she should have realized he was an athlete. She felt foolish for being so close to a professional and not even recognizing them.

She read on to find out about his ex-girlfriend, a woman named Quinn Fabray. He had dated Ms. Fabray for almost two years, when they mysteriously broke up. The article never went into any detail as to why, or any of the details surrounding it. Only that it was sudden.

Rachel continued to scour through random articles, but never found anything else to clue her in. She did notice though, that after he broke up with Quinn, he was spotted at Kurt Hummel's residence more often, it looked like they might even live together.

That had to be it.

Kurt was the reason they broke up. Finn must be in the closet. It made sense, she hadn't heard of very many professional athletes who had come out and been welcomed pleasantly. The few who had, were treated with ridicule, and heavy speculation. Finn was new to the industry, just starting out, of course he wouldn't want to come out to the world. He was preserving himself, his career.

It made Rachel feel sorry for him, knowing that he couldn't truly show himself for the world, but she completely understood. At least he had the strength to end the relationship with the woman, Quinn. He was probably unhappy, and faking the whole thing. Now he could be kind of happy, and live a relatively normal life with Kurt as long as no one caught on.

She exited out of her browser, content with her search and solving the mystery, and decided to scroll through her twitter feed.

She was surprised to see her own name trending, along with something else called Finchel. Intrigued, she clicked on the tag to look through the postings. Instantly a picture of herself popped up, nestled into the side of none other than Finn Hudson himself.

That was like, five minutes ago, how could that possibly be on the internet? Those paps were really good.

Rachel clicked on the picture, dropping her jaw at the caption.

_New Couple Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson spotted on a cozy coffee date? #Finchel _

_**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Reviews are love! **_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Glee. **_

_**Classes and work are officially back for me! Yay. So I probably won't be updating as quickly as I usually try to, but I'm going to do my best! Hope you stick with me! **_

The following morning, after a failed mission to Starbucks, Rachel made her way to 'Pampered' the nearest day spa. Her first big rehearsal had left her feeling drained, and in desperate need of rejuvenation. Not to mention, she couldn't resist staying up all night to scour over her mentions on Twitter, learning new things about what people were saying about she and Finn. Apparently they had been secretly dating for the past few months, some even said that she was the reason he and Quinn had broken up. Though that particular rumor made her feel a bit like a harlot, she was actually flattered that people would even think that he might choose her over someone as beautiful as Quinn Fabray. His feelings must have been very strong to leave her, the picture of perfection.

Rachel hadn't responded to any of the gossip, nor had she come out with any sort of comment to confirm or deny it. It didn't slip her notice that Finn hadn't either. It was intriguing really, having everyone talking about her, spreading her name. It wasn't even bad press, people seemed to really like the idea of the two of them together, naming them Finchel and manipulating pictures of the two of them together. She had found herself even screen-shotting a few of them to keep, they were that good.

She imagined that Finn was relatively happy with the attention as well. Their names and the fake pictures were all over the internet, some of his new fan pages were even sending her angry messages claiming that she had stolen him from them. Clearly, people weren't putting together the pieces that he was indeed homosexual. Instead, they were taking that one picture, and assuming a relationship between them. It must have been just the perfect situation for him, having her as sort of a beard. Wondering if she should feel offended, or used, she opened the door to the spa to find none other than Finn Hudson.

"Well hello boyfriend, fancy seeing you here." she said coolly, walking past him to sign in at the desk.

"You saw that too huh?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"How could I not? People have the wildest imaginations don't they?" she laughed lightly, sitting down next to him.

"Totally. I hope it hasn't been too big of a pain Ms. Berry."

"Please, call me Rachel" she said, sticking out her hand to him. "And don't worry about it, it's been kind of nice actually. You know what they say, there's no such thing as bad publicity."

Finn's lips pulled up into an adorable half-smirk as he shook her hand. "You do have a point there, Kurt's been going a little crazy over all of the attention."

"I'm sure he has. Where is he?"

"He's at work, pissed that I'm here and he can't be" Finn grinned.

"Aw, do the two of you come here together often?"

"Not really, only when there's something important coming up or you know practice has been rough or something" he mumbled, his ears pinking. He must have just realized the fact that he was bragging about going to the spa with his partner might be blowing his cover. Quickly he backtracked, "I don't come often. Just, you know when I need to. It's kind of weird really, but they give really good massages and..."

"You're absolutely right, Brittany is amazing" Rachel cut in, saving him from his ramble. "Is there something coming up soon, is that why you're here?" she offered.

"Yeah, yeah. Tonight is the LGBT thing, the mixer. Kurt won't let me out unless I meet his standards of approval so here I am. You're not going?" he asked.

"_Mr. Hudson, Ms. Berry_" a voice came over the speaker.

The two young people stood up, and made their way over to the door leading to the back.

"I usually make it a point to attend all functions. I have two gay fathers who are very involved, they actually host events back at home. So I'm very comfortable with it, and extremely supportive of the alternative lifestyle" she announced, hopefully showing that she wouldn't judge him should he choose to confide in her. "However, I won't be in attendance tonight, I have rehearsals."

"Right, Spring Awakening. I bet that's amazing, I'd love to hear about it" he said, stopping in the hallway before they parted.

She hated to think that their conversation had to end here. Not only because she loved bragging about the Broadway life and herself in general, but because she was truly enjoying conversing with him. He felt like, a gay best friend. She could really use a friend.

"Have you ever had a pedicure?" she blurted.

"Umm, well only a time or two. I didn't get my nails painted or anything though, I just, it felt really good. Football is rough on your feet..."

Rachel giggled as she watched him stumble over his words. "I'm sure it is. That's the first thing I'm going to have done, would you like to join me? I can tell you all about the show and you may inform me on the horrors of your football" she offered, holding the door open towards him.

After a few seconds hesitation, his walls seemed to crumble as he took a step towards her. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

><p>"So when I fainted, he didn't even catch me! I dropped like a sack of potatoes, and hit my head on the door frame!" Rachel squealed, recalling her first off-Broadway production of Rocky Horror Picture Show to Finn.<p>

"You're kidding me! He dropped you?" he laughed, trying to contain himself by placing a hand over his mouth.

"He didn't even drop me, he just like, didn't even catch me. I was humiliated, but at least it was only during rehearsal" she giggled, leaning her head back against its rest as the attendant massaged her feet.

"If it makes you feel any better, I once had to do the Single Ladies dance in the middle of a football game in front of my whole high school. It was the single most embarrassing thing I've ever done."

"Oh my God" Rachel gasped, placing her hand over her heart as the laughter bubbled out of her. "I would pay to see that!"

"I thought I'd never live it down, it was on YouTube for like, ever" he grumbled.

"Oh really" she asked, pulling out her phone and opening up her YouTube app. Just about a minute later the lyrics to 'Single Ladies' burst from her phone as Rachel began to laugh hysterically.

"No!" Finn croaked, reaching in vein towards her. "I can't believe you just saw that."

"I couldn't pass that up Finn, you really had some moves on you huh?" she teased, sticking her tongue out at him. "How did you get talked into doing this?"

"Kurt."

"Oh." she said, nodding her head. Of course, Kurt.

"It actually turned out pretty awesome. He was new to the football team, and we pretty much sucked before that. He thought it would be a good idea to get the guys to loosen up by doing some dance exercises, so we brought it up to the team and somehow got them on board. At our very next game, in the final minutes we pulled out our moves, which you just saw" he shot a glare towards her "and it worked wonders. We won the game, and it became kind of a pre-game ritual after that." he said smugly, raising his arms to rest behind his head.

"You and Kurt have known each other a long time huh?" she prodded, leaning a little closer to him.

"Yeah, it feels like it."

"It seems like the two of you have a very, healthy relationship"

"We do. It wasn't always that way, we went through a lot in the beginning but over time, I don't know we just kind of found our groove, you know?" he asked, closing his eyes as the small woman at his feet massaged him.

"That's good."

"Yeah. I don't know what I'd do without him sometimes. Getting here has been, such a crazy journey and like, he's been there for me every step of the way. There was one time, I hated to even share a room with him, but I can't picture him not being here with me now. He knows me better than anybody, all the bullcrap, the secrets, the drama; I never would have made it this far without him. That's another reason I'm glad he gets to experience all this, the whole social climb and stuff. It means so much to him, he's wanted this life since he was like a baby or something. That's why, when we started popping up all over the internet yesterday, he was super stoked. He said he felt like a celebrity and his name wasn't even mentioned" Finn chuckled, standing from his chair as the woman let him know that he was finished.

Rachel smiled at the man next to her as she followed suit and stood from her seat as well. That was the longest speech she had heard from him yet, and he wasn't even talking about himself. He was bragging on his lover. Pushing back the slight tinge of jealousy as she studied him. She had to appreciate his huge heart, and the love he had for his partner. He obviously cared so much about Kurt, and apparently Kurt was a remarkable boyfriend in return. It was nice to feel like she had some part in the relationship, even as just a bystander. They both seemed like lovely people, and just from spending the afternoon with Finn, she felt like she had gained a dear friend. She found herself wanting to help her friend, wanting to help him and his lover in their relationship.

"Finn, I have an idea."

"Yeah? If it has anything to do with re-enacting that dance number I'm out" he said sternly, holding the door open for her.

"No, though that would probably be entertaining. I have, well first off I have a question."

"You have my attention" he said, pausing next to her.

"Why didn't you deny any of the rumors that started spreading about us yesterday? I noticed you never tweeted or did anything to stop it."

"Uh, well I don't know. It didn't really bother me, and like you said, it was kind of nice. You know with the publicity and stuff."

"If we tried to deny it, the public would more than likely only take that as us trying to hide our romance from them anyway, and continue to dig, don't you think?"

"Yeah, they do like to pry and stuff" he answered, suddenly finding his shirt sleeve extremely interesting.

"My thoughts exactly. So I was thinking, maybe it would be wiser to try and make the most out of our situation."

"Huh?"

"Well, we both agree that the publicity is nothing if not a good thing. We're both a great deal more popular today than we were last week even, purely because of this spectacle. If we continue to toy with the paparazzi, it would only lead to more exposure, which you just said Kurt would be very happy about."

"So what are you saying, are you saying we should date?" he asked, eyebrows shooting up into his forehead.

"No, no of course not!" she scrambled, trying not to offend him or make him feel as if she were trying to mess up things between him and Kurt. "I think we should _pretend _to date. Or at least, lead people to believe that we're dating. The media is bound to hound us either way; in doing this we could manipulate the whole thing you know? Allow them to see what we want them to. We're friends, and we know our boundaries so it wouldn't be weird. We could live our lives normally, while leading the media to believe whatever we wanted. Keeping our private lives safe, and simultaneously controlling our own spectacle. We'd be sort of, putting on a show to speak" she concluded, hoping he caught her meaning.

"That actually sounds, like really smart Rachel." he finally said, looking down at her with a grin. "Seriously, you're a genius!"

"Oh, well" she said, feigning modesty. "So, what do you think?" she asked, sticking her tiny hand out to him.

"I think you've got yourself a fake boyfriend" he answered, taking her tiny hand in his.

_**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!**_

_**Hopefully I'll get to update soon!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Glee.**_

"Oh my Barbara! I can't believe it, look at this Finn. It's been a week and not a day has gone by that something about Finchel hasn't been broadcasted all over the web!" Kurt cheered, tossing his iPhone at his brother. "I've been keeping a mental track of all the articles and pictures."

"Yeah, it's been pretty cool" Finn answered, rubbing his shoulder where the phone hit him.

"That reminds me. There's no way around it, we're going to have to rid you of that ridiculous Star Wars screen tee. I can't believe you got photographed together wearing that. The paparazzi should have realized right then the whole thing was a hoax. There's no way Rachel Berry would be keeping company with someone who wears such things."

"Really" Finn asked, arching an eyebrow at his brother. "Guess you'd never believe that she still has the Princess Amidala Halloween costume that she wore her senior year of high school in her closet" he said smugly, walking over to his own closet.

"You've got to be kidding me. Well, I suppose we all have to have a fault. No wonder the two of you get along so well." Kurt teased, dodging Finn's punch.

"Shut up dude."

"But in all seriousness, the two of you seem to be getting...pretty cozy." Kurt asked in the form of a question.

"Yeah, she's pretty awesome. I can't believe all of this is actually happening man. I guess I kind of have you to thank." Finn smiled, attempting to pull a rock band tee out of the closet.

"Absolutely not" Kurt chided, popping Finn's hand and replacing the shirt. "You sound like you're about to tell me that the two of you are getting married. Explain."

"What? No! I just meant, for us meeting and stuff. I probably would have stood there staring at her like some weirdo until she left in Starbucks that day..."

"This is true."

"...But, now she's like, the best friend I ever had. Yeah, she's super intense like you said she would be, but I really like that about her. She's passionate, she knows what she wants and she knows how to get it. She's like, the funniest girl I've ever met, we laugh more than Quinn and I ever used to. She even joined in when I did my dinosaur impression" he grinned, ignoring Kurt's fake gag. "She's just, I don't know dude it's like, I feel like I've known her my whole life or something. Is that weird?"

"No, it's not. It's really sweet actually" Kurt answered, not missing the twinkle in his brothers' eyes when he spoke about her.

"And she's super hot" Finn smirked, looking up from rifling through his clothes.

"And you just ruined the romance for me" Kurt sighed, shoving Finn out of the way so he could pick out the outfit himself. "Any chance she feels the same way about you?"

"Feel the same way? It's not like I have a crush on her or anything" Finn said unconvincingly. "We're just friends. You were right before, I'm pretty sure she's not interested in me like that" he said, sitting down on the bed while Kurt worked.

"I'm usually right, but how do you know?"

"She treats me like, sort of like one of the girls I guess. Like I'm really her best friend, only I have, well you know something else down there. At first it was kind of weird, but I guess that's just how she interacts with people. Plus, she doesn't seem to really have a lot of friends, girl or boy so I guess I'm kind of filling in for both. I don't really mind it now though, it's worth it."

"Yeah, I could see that. She's bringing out your sensitive side" he said overly sweetly, rubbing his cheeks purposefully as he turned to Finn with a deep gray button up shirt.

"She wanted to get facials, and my skin feels freaking amazing now. Like you don't do it!" he huffed, snatching the shirt up and walking away from his brother.

"Calm down big guy I was just teasing. Geez, I see her famous storm outs have rubbed off on you" he commented, pulling out Finn's nicest jeans to hand to him.

"Oh God you're right...We really do spend a lot of time together don't we?" he asked, a smile pulling up the side of his face.

"If you're not on that smelly field, you're with her so I would say yes. You still haven't told me, where are you two lovebirds going tonight?"

"Azimio from the team is throwing a party, all of the guys are going to be there."

"And it seemed like a logical place to take her." he said dryly, knowing full well what this party was going to be like from Finn's stories.

"I hadn't planned on it but they wouldn't stop ragging me. When I mentioned it to her she said she didn't mind it, she hasn't been to a big party here yet so she's actually excited."

"Well, she's definitely in for an interesting night" Kurt mused, leaving his brother and his clothes to the shower.

* * *

><p>"This is so exhilarating, my first real New York party!" Rachel cried, clutching Finn's hand tightly in her own as they made their way into the building.<p>

"Just stick close to me, okay?" Finn told her, looking down into the shiny eyes of his tiny beauty of a best friend. She nodded excitedly as they walked forward to give their names and go inside.

The blaring music and bright lights attacked their senses as soon as they stepped in. Rachel was fascinated by the whole picture; random people dancing on tabletops, bottles and red cups everywhere, so many more people than she would have thought could fit in the space. Everyone looked so free, writhing around and acting like they didn't have a care in the world. It was everything she had ever imagined a party would be.

"Wow" she breathed, letting Finn lead her through the room.

"Yeah, they go all out."

"Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to join us."

Finn turned his head at the sound of Azimio's voice.

"What's up man?" he greeted, bumping fists with the man. "Rachel, this is my teammate Azimio, he's the one throwing the party."

Rachel, not knowing exactly what was expected of her, too stuck out her small fist at him. "Hello, it's very nice to meet you Mr. Azimio!" she chirped as the much larger man tentatively touched his fist to hers. "Thank you so much for having us!"

"So this is the girl that's been keeping Hudson so tied up huh? Nice work" he grinned, clapping Finn on the shoulders, all the while raking his eyes over Rachel's body.

Seeing the slight glaze to his teammates eyes, and knowing that if he stuck around any longer it was bound to get awkward, Finn slipped an arm around Rachel's waist. "Thanks, do you want something to drink Rach?"

Without waiting for an answer he pulled her towards the bar, just as Azimio moved closer to talk to her.

"Finn, that was rude. He's the host, we're supposed to mingle aren't we?" she yell-whispered over the roar of the music.

"Nah don't worry about it, he might not even remember meeting you tomorrow."

"Oh" she pouted. "So, what are we supposed to do now?"

"Well first, do you want a drink?" he asked, nodding his head to the bar they had been approaching.

Rachel bit her lip as she contemplated her options. Everyone around her had a drink in their hands, releasing their inhibitions and mindlessly flowing around the room; it was incredibly tempting. But then again it was her very first party and she wanted to remember everything so that she could recall it in her biography one day.

"Not this time, I want to remain sober tonight, take everything in."

"Gotcha" he said, eying her small frame. "I figured you would be a lightweight anyway, you're so tiny."

Rachel smacked him on the chest as he laughed at her. "Do they serve non-alcoholic things? I'd like something to sip on so that I'll blend in."

"Sure babe, water? It'll at least look like vodka" he suggested, turning to fetch her drink when she nodded.

All of the excitement around her, the lights and the music, the gorgeous man on her arm, it was like a dream. Though she hadn't had a sip to drink, and she knew that alcohol didn't work the same way as smoke; there was no such thing as secondhand drunkenness, she found herself intoxicated by her surroundings. She smiled brightly as she started rocking her hips in time with the music. Just a few minutes later Finn returned with two red cups.

"Actual vodka for you?" she asked, peeking into both cups as he handed her one.

"Nope, I have to take care of you don't I?" he asked, bringing the cup to his lips as he winked at her.

"That's ridiculous Finn. I'm not drinking so I hardly need taking care of. You shouldn't let my presence stop you from enjoying yourself."

"I am enjoying myself" he stated, raising his fist into the air to pump and making her giggle. "Honestly, I wouldn't have come without you. These things always get kind of wild and I feel kinda out of place. It's nice to have an actual friend here."

Rachel smiled at his words as she placed their drinks on a nearby counter. She took his hand, leading him further onto the dance floor.

"Oh no" he said, stopping while she continued to tug on his hand. "Rach, you know I don't dance."

"Pleeeease Finn?" she cried, giving him her best pout face.

"You go ahead, I'll watch" he said weakly, knowing already that those eyes would make him cave.

"Come on Finn, I'll lead I promise" she cried, leaning into him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

She wasn't sure if it was the admittedly insane attraction she felt to him since the day they met, or the affect that the party was having on her, but she found herself inches from his face as she stared at him, much closer than she usually allowed herself. Pouting her lips to their max, she blinked at him through her lashes and saw his walls crumble.

"Fine" he grumbled, allowing her to pull him deeper into the crowd.

She stopped them in the center as she stood in front of him and placed his hands on her hips. "You don't even have to move if you don't want to."

Rachel placed her hands over his as she started to dance, swaying her hips from side to side. As expected, he didn't move, rather he held onto her tighter as she got into the music, rocking back and forth. All the classes that she had to take for her profession, and all of the stylized dancing that she did for shows were great, but this kind of dancing was intoxicating. There was something to be said about dancing to your own beat, moving however your body led you, it was freeing.

She lost herself in the beat as they danced, his hands anchored on her waist as she turned in his arms to throw her arms around his neck. "Isn't this so much fun Finn?!" she squealed, peering over his shoulder at the couple who looked like they were trying to make a baby behind them.

"Rach? Don't like, hit me or anything, but I'm gonna grab your ass okay?"

"Excuse me?" she asked, her eyebrows shooting up.

"It's just that like, half of my team are behind you staring at us. They're making the 'pussy' sign at me right now because I haven't really touched you."

"Really?" she tried to turn around and see for herself, but was stopped by the feeling of his large hand cupping her behind.

"I know it's really stupid, but they always turn these things into kind of, competitions. I told you, it's not really my scene. I usually sneak out before they can ride me too much, then I only have to deal with them in the locker room. Maybe this" he squeezed her behind gently "will keep them off of me" he finished, sliding his hand up away from her behind to the small of her back.

"That's silly, are they really that immature?" she asked, peeking over her shoulder to see the host of the party making a whipping gesture to his friends then pointing to Finn.

"Yeah. I try to ignore most of it, but maybe in a few minutes I can grab your ass again, or something. They're still watching."

"I have a better idea."

Trying not to think too much about her hasty decision, she turned, grabbing Finn's hand and walked them over to a small door right nearby their little audience. She knocked, then poked her head in to reveal a small empty closet.

Perfect.

She turned to grab Finn by his collar and push him into the closet first, before closing the small door behind him.

"What the-?"

"Relax, I'm trying to help you." she said, reaching up in the darkness to mess up his hair.

"By doing what exactly, taking my eye out?"

Frustrated by her inability to see, Rachel pulled out her phone and switched on her flashlight app, cutting it on dim to illuminate the small closet.

"Much better. Now, you said that they're always hassling you about not joining in on their shenanigans. What better way to stop the immature bullying than to give them what they want? Or rather _fake_ giving them what they want." She explained, signaling for him to stoop so that she could mess up his hair finally.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying" he asked, finally catching her meaning and mussing with her hair as well.

Rachel nodded and he lifted her up, hugging her to him.

"You're amazing, did you know that? This is gonna be awesome!"

Finn tussled her hair wildly as she ran her fingers through his, trying to imitate 'just fucked' hair. She unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, and started to wipe the lipstick off of her lips to allude that she'd been kissing. Getting a better idea, she pulled Finn down to her."I'm not going to kiss you, this is for show." She turned his head and bit down on his neck, leaving both a mark from her teeth and the stain of her lipstick.

Ignoring the way her lower body clenched when he hissed, she pulled away smiling at her handiwork. She had given him a very convincing love bite, she only prayed that Kurt understood it was all for the sake of the show they were putting on. Well that's what she was telling herself, considering the effect this whole scenario was having on her.

Shaking her head of the inappropriate thoughts, she pushed Finn against the door so that it couldn't be opened. "Okay, we have to make this believable" she whispered "are you ready?"

Finn nodded, and she smacked her fists against the door behind him, simulating the sound of someone being pushed against it.

"Oh God Finn!" she moaned loudly, pulling him slightly forward then pushing him against the door again to keep up the sound.

"Finn, please!" she whined, then poked him in the stomach. "_What are you doing, join in_!" she whispered harshly before pushing him into the door again.

Bringing himself out of the daze that the sound of Rachel moaning his name had him in, he finally collected himself. "Fuck Rachel, God baby" he groaned, backing himself against the door with more force.

"Oh yes, right there Finn! A little to the left, oh God, yes!" she moaned.

"_What the hell was that?" _he whispered, raising his eyebrows at her.

"_I was trying to be descriptive. Imagery is important!" _she whispered back, before backtracking. "Oh Finn, God you know just what I need" she amended. "_Happy now?"_

Eager for payback, he nodded. "What's my name Rachel?"

Her jaw dropped as he smirked evilly at her and motioned for her to spin around. Mortified that she was being demeaned, but unable to break character she turned, allowing Finn to slap her behind as she shouted "Finn!"

Finn grunted loudly, giving one last hard shove to the door before he doubled over, laughing into his elbow while Rachel crossed her arms over her chest to glare at him. The glare didn't last however. The realization of how ridiculous what they'd just done was, and his infectious silent laughter melted away her embarrassment as she too covered her face and burst into a silent fit of giggles.

When they finally recovered, they both had red cheeks and were breathing heavy, adding even more validity to their facade. Twisting her skirt around some, and pulling at her shirt to make it ride a little, she slipped her hand into Finn's and followed him out of the closet.

As expected, the same men watching earlier stood very close by with perverted grins on their faces as they watched the two emerge. Looking up, she caught Finn giving them a loaded wink before looking down to her with a blinding smile.

She turned her head towards the men with a smile of her own. "_Great _party guys! Let's dance!" she squealed, placing Finn's hands at her hips and sashaying onto the dance floor again.

_**Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed!**_

_**I'll try to update as soon as I can, stick with me!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Glee.  
><strong>_

_**We're very near the end my friends. I'm sorry to say no smut in this chapter but I guarantee you it's so close you can practically smell it. Go ahead, sniff.**_

"Thanks for staying over Finn" Rachel said, plopping next to him on her couch, throwing her feet into his lap.

"It's no problem Rach. I kinda feel like I live here now anyway" he answered, leaning over to cradle them, knowing that they were cold. She always kept her apartment chilly, and her feet always suffered for it.

Rachel sighed in contentment as she leaned back into the couch. These were the times that really blurred the lines for her. Being so close to him, feeling his eyes on her as he massaged her feet, it was easy to let herself believe he was attracted to her too. They spent so much time together now, pretending to be a couple and doing all the couple-y things like going out, taking pictures, and the occasional peck on the cheek in public. She had even popped up after his practice yesterday just to surprise him, being a supportive girlfriend. She was playing her part well, maybe too well. It was beginning to feel so natural she actually had to remind herself that it wasn't real.

Lounging around with Finn in her apartment was a regular occurrence now, her guest bedroom had kind of become his due to all their sleepovers. Sometimes, when she was doing laundry she would go in to tidy, and steal one of his shirts from the drawer to wear around. He didn't seem to mind. She idly wondered how Kurt would feel about it, how he felt about _all_ of their sleepovers really, but he was very trusting apparently and he worked late most nights. She hated the idea of Finn spending his nights alone, so he usually ended up at her place.

"So how was rehearsal today Rach? You sounded kind of tense on the phone earlier."

"Extremely trying" she replied, rubbing her temples as her memories of the day came flooding back to her.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Rachel sat up on the couch, biting her lower lip as she thought. It would be scary, opening up to Finn about her self-image issues and seeing his reaction. He could very well share the same hurtful opinions that she had heard so many times over the years. Then again, he didn't exactly play for her team, so he would probably be neutral.

"Finn, what do you think of my body?" she asked timidly, looking down at her lap.

"What- what do you mean?"

"I, well I was told going into this show that it would push boundaries, and there would be some risque material, but it didn't really hit me until today."

"You starred in Rocky Horror before Rachel, surely you can handle this. You're just working yourself up" he said, leaning closer to her reassuringly.

"This is different Finn, this is _Broadway_. And sure, Rocky was edgy and incredibly sexual, but this is going to be so much more intense than that. Tomorrow we start on my first topless sex scene."

Finn's jaw dropped as he took in her words.

"You um, you don't look very comfortable with that idea."

"I just, I'm very realistic Finn. I know what my body looks like, I realize I don't have the most ample chest" she said, motioning towards herself and cupping her breasts. "I can't help but be nervous."

Finn reached forward, lifting her chin forcing her to make eye contact with him. The vulnerability in her eyes made his heart clench as he stared at the most beautiful girl in his world.

"Rachel, you have an amazing body, you have no reason to be nervous about it" he said gently, peering intently into her eyes. "You're beautiful."

"Do you really mean that?" her big doe eyes bore into him as he nodded, giving her his trademark smile.

"I do" he answered. "I really don't like the idea of you doing something that you're so uncomfortable with though. You shouldn't force yourself if you aren't ready" he murmured, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"I think I just really needed to hear that Finn, thank you" she beamed fondly at her friend. "It's such an amazing part, and I've been having so much fun bringing her to life. When I found out today what we would be doing tomorrow, and then having Jesse tell me I should look into getting a boob job" she sneered, recalling her co-stars rude comment, "it just brought up a lot of old insecurities and kind of ruined my excitement, but you just relieved most of that" she smiled, puffing out her chest and staring down at it.

Finn chuckled as he watched her, "I'm glad I could be of service, and if that service extends to kicking the crap out of that Jesse guy, I'm glad to help."

Rachel waved a hand dismissively, "Forget Jesse, he's hardly as attractive as he thinks he is anyway."

"That's my girl! He's going to pale in comparison to you anyway. Seriously, when you pull those things out people won't even notice him" Finn teased.

Rachel stood from her seat on the couch reaching for the hem of her nightshirt, the confidence Finn's words ignited in her fueling her every move. Sure this was probably over the top, and inappropriate, but this would be good practice to get comfortable with her body. He had said that her body was beautiful, but it was no secret that a gay man could appreciate a woman's body without being drawn to it, therefore she wouldn't be tempting him. Using this logic to make her not feel like a home wrecker, she pulled the shirt off and over her head, revealing her bare breasts to a sputtering Finn.

"Wanna play the game with the war men and kill each other?" she asked casually, ignoring the spike of adrenaline she felt at her state of undress. Her heart only raced faster as she felt his eyes on her while she made her way to the PlayStation 3 that had taken up residence beneath her television.

"Umm sure. Rach, what are you doing?" he asked, eyes falling to her exposed breasts as she popped the disc baring 'Call of Duty' in and turned to hand him his controller.

"I'm taking your advice Finn. I need to get comfortable with my body, and embrace myself. That's what I'm doing" she declared, dropping next to him on the couch again. She crossed her legs, her knee brushing against his thigh as she settled herself.

"Oh, well okay" he finally stuttered out, choosing the map and class for them before starting the match.

As soon as it started, Rachel's competitive nature overtook her. Anytime they played this particular game, he gave her a handicap allowing her to use guns while he could only attack her with a tomahawk. She took her place, hiding in the corner waiting for Finn's soldier to come around so she could sneak attack him. Finally the man showed up, hitting her square in the face with a tomahawk before she could even aim her gun.

"You're screen watching!" she cried in exasperation, pointing her tiny finger at him and drawing his gaze to the way the movement made her breast shake.

"I'm totally not Rachel, you just suck at this game" he smirked, dragging his eyes back to hers.

"Liar!" she cried, lifting one hand to cover his eyes as her soldier re-spawned. What she didn't realize was that her arm wasn't quite long enough to completely cover his eyes, leaving her to play with one hand while he stealthily crept up and killed her again.

The streak continued, Finn killing her at every turn, not even allowing her to hit him once. Ever a sore loser, and upset that she couldn't beat him on the game, she chose to attack him in real life to take her revenge.

"Ahhh" came her battle cry as she threw her controller to the ground and turned, pounding on his chest with her fists.

Recovering from the initial shock, Finn laughed heartily as the tiny woman launched what she probably thought was a ferocious attack. She was nowhere near a match for his large frame and strength, but he humored her anyway, holding up his arms in defense as she flung herself at him, straddling his lap. He bit the inside of her jaw at her proximity, her exposed chest extremely close to him as she bounced on his lap with the force of her swats and punches.

Quickly deciding that he needed to stop her before things got out of hand, Finn grabbed her wrists, pinning them to her sides effectively halting her attack.

"Say I win!" she cried, jerking against his restrain and making her breasts jiggle right before his eyes.

"No way Rach. I didn't realize you were such a sore loser" he smirked "guess we'll have to work on that too."

Rachel blushed as she finally stopped fighting, making no move to remove herself from his lap as he still held to her wrists.

"I think this experiment was very effective" she assessed, puffing her chest out and staring down at her small curves, realizing that she didn't feel the least bit self conscious.

"Glad to hear it."

"Do you still stand by your earlier assessment that my body was amazing? You hadn't actually seen them until now" she asked, watching as he eyed her breasts critically.

"Absolutely, _amazing_."

She smiled as he grinned at her, his dimples making her stomach do somersaults as she fought the urge to slide even closer to him. "Are you sure? I know they're small Finn, you don't have tiptoe around it. Look" she said, shaking her wrist free and lifting his hand to her breast, opening his palm, but not touching it to her skin. "Your hand is like double the size" she pouted softly.

"So? That doesn't make this..." he said, staring at her for permission and moving forward when she nodded. He cupped her petite breast in his large calloused palm, bringing his thumb to stroke beneath the soft skin and dragging his index finger down before rolling her nipple between his fingers. He released her momentarily before repeating the motion, "any less enjoyable."

"You think so?" she whispered, fighting back a moan and squeezing her thighs together to dull the ache that was starting to build under his touch. Her every nerve ending felt like it was on fire as she stared down at him.

"Definitely. I can't imagine anyone lucky enough to get this close being able to resist kissing them."

"I don't know..." she mumbled weakly, eyes rolling into the back of her head as he brought his other hand up to work both of her breasts in his talented hands.

"I'm sure of it. I can demonstrate..." he offered, watching her writhe on his lap as she gripped his knees behind her.

"Are you sure" she asked, her conscious annoyingly fighting to the surface.

"You're my friend Rachel, my _best_ friend. I want to help you see how beautiful you are. Any way I can help, I want to."

Rachel nodded, pushing all thoughts of Kurt to the back of her mind as he leaned forward, taking her left nipple into his mouth.

"_Mmmm_" she whined as he sucked gently, still worshiping her right breast with his hand. It had been so long since she had felt a man's touch, embarrassingly long, and Finn was extremely well-versed with how to please a woman. He must have had a lot of experience with Quinn before he switched teams.

She could only assume that since she knew Kurt's voice was of the higher register, her moans and whines reminded Finn of him since she suddenly felt a certain hardness through his jeans. She was too lost to the pleasure to feel guilty, or weird that she might very well be serving as a Kurt replacement in Finn's mind as she pressed herself against him, grinding herself against the bulge.

Finn gripped her ass as she moved, roughly pulling her against him as he detached her lips from her left breast to devour the right. She tugged on his hair as she moved, moaning aloud and resisting the urge to clamp down on his neck, leaving a hickey for Kurt to see. She continued to move, feeling his hips thrust up against her while he pleasured her breasts, building her up. Her eyes rolled back, losing herself to the feeling of him until they were jolted back to reality by the ringing of Finn's cell phone.

Shocked into stillness, he froze beneath her before reaching over to the coffee table to look at his phone. He quickly lifted it to his ear, a dazed Rachel waiting breathlessly in his lap.

"What's up Kurt?"

_**Thank you for reading! DON'T WORRY, THE SMUT/LOVE is right around the corner, I promise! There's only one chapter left!**_

_**I'll update soon! Until then, Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are lovely!** _


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Glee. **_

_**Okay, so I lied. This isn't going to be the last chapter. Thanks for all the support on this story, hope you continue to enjoy!**_

"_I'm getting ready to head home, do I need to pick you up_?" Kurt asked.

"Nah, I'm staying over at Rachel's again tonight" Finn answered, sad to feel her shifting off of his lap.

_"My God Finn, do you really live there now? Not that I'd mind, the blogs are all reporting as much anyway, and then I wouldn't have to wash your clothes anymore or run into your 31" Darth Vader figurine in the living room._"

Finn jumped off of the couch to walk into the guest room as his brother spoke, closing the door behind him. "Lay off Kurt, you know we're just friends, it's nothing like that" he muttered sullenly.

"_Finn, You may look like a giant oaf but we both know you aren't one. You know better than to lie to me so spill, you really like her._"

"We just get along really well, and yeah she's super hot and stuff but-" he broke off, a rustling on the other side of the door interrupting him.

"_Ah, I see. I suppose you're right Finn. So how are your Neanderthal football friends doing? Haven't heard anything in a while."_

"Um, good I guess. I don't really see much of them outside of practice. Rachel and me kinda hang out most of the time."

"_Of course. Tell me, have you been back for a pedicure lately?_"

"Nah, Rachel takes really good care of her feet, but I did help give her a french manicure the other night. Making those tiny little lines is freaking hard dude, it took me like three tries."

"_I'm sure. That was an adorable picture she tweeted of the two of you yesterday. Your skin looked so vibrant, have you finally started using the moisturizer I gave you_?"

"Eh, I used it once after we got those facials but Rachel didn't like it that much. She started me on the cream wash that she uses. She likes it better and it makes my face feel like marshmallows or something" he said happily.

"_Marshmallows huh? That must be something serious. What were you two crazy kids doing when you took that picture anyway?_"

"Watching The Vampire Diaries."

"_Hmm, The Vampire Diaries?_"

"Yeah, she's kind of obsessed with it."

"_I thought after I dragged you to Twilight, you swore off that kind of thing? I think you called it 'humiliating'._"

"Yeah well, that was horrible, but this is actually a really good show."

"_I see. And how did you come to this realization?"_

_"_Rachel talked me into watching the first episode and we finished like half of the season in one night. I wasn't totally sold at first, but she just gets so into it you know? She sits on the edge of her seat the whole time, and gasps at the dramatic parts. She balls up her little fists and talks back to the T.V and it's the cutest thing I've ever seen dude, she's adorable. Her enthusiasm's contagious, I caught myself even getting really into it and..._Holy shit_. I'm whipped aren't I?"

"_Ding Ding Ding! I'm ashamed it took you so long._"

"Crap" he smiled, "when did this happen?"

"_My guess would be in Starbucks almost two weeks ago."_

_"_Well damn" Finn grinned, turning towards the door.

"_And how about our starlet, think she's harboring any denial over feelings for you as well? She seems awful cozy with you online, I know she's a good actress but that's some deep chemistry you two have._"

"I don't know man, she's always treated me like I said before, just like a legit best friend. But, sometimes she gives me this look and... it's just different. It's been kind of confusing, all the mixed signals and stuff. Matter of fact, things seemed to be getting pretty heated right before you called" Finn said, remembering his annoyance at his brother. "Total Cock-block dude!"

_"Eww, I don't even want to know. You're not taking advantage of her are you Finn?_"

"What? No dude, I would never! I have more respect for her than that. I have more respect for her than I have anyone in a long time actually" Finn said thoughtfully.

"_Good. Now as much as I'm enjoying this conversation, there's a hot Borat look alike looking to have dinner with me tonight" _Kurt said, referring to the mystery guy he'd mentioned to Finn a few times lately_. "So I'm going to let you go now_. _Go back to your scandalous, confusing night with your fake girlfriend_."

"Thanks Kurt" Finn laughed, "Really man, you're the best."

_"I never get tired of hearing that._"

"Be safe tonight. I'll probably see you tomorrow."

* * *

><p>Rachel sat on the couch, head in her hands as she contemplated everything that had just happened. She had allowed herself to get so close to Finn, and it felt so unbelievably right. That is until his phone rang. She had quickly decided that the whole thing felt too right, that she couldn't let go of the feeling and she would tell him how she felt. She had followed him when he left the room when she heard the defeating words.<p>

_"Lay off Kurt, you know we're just friends, it's nothing like that."_

_"We just get along really well, Yeah she's hot and stuff but-"_

After that, she couldn't listen anymore. It was bad enough that she felt like a floozy for partaking in such indecent activity with Finn. Knowing that the emotional connection she thought she felt was just like rubbing dirt in a wound.

Making up her mind that it wouldn't be wise to indulge herself farther tonight, or ever for that matter, she retrieved her shirt and pulled it over her head. She bounced forward and removed the video game. She pulled out her Vampire Diaries DVD box set and popped in the DVD as the guest room door opened again.

"I'm back, now where we?" he asked, plopping down on the couch and throwing an arm casually around her.

"Finn!" she squealed. "I think we left off where Damon had his meltdown and-"

"Um, no not that" he said, just noticing the T.V now set up for them to continue their marathon. "Or did I just imagine all of that earlier?"

Rachel shook her head as he stared at her.

"Listen Rach, Before we start, I have something to say." He cleared his throat as she turned to him, giving him her attention. "The last few weeks have been, really awesome. Like, more than awesome. I feel so close to you, it's kind of crazy how our relationship has built up. I was, well, I've been kind of confused about things. Especially at first, but now, now it just feels like maybe things are changing. Do you know what I'm saying?"

"I do, I totally understand your meaning Finn, more than you know" she answered solemnly. "It's very confusing for me as well. I think, things got a tad bit out of hand earlier, I assure you I never behave in such a way. I'm typically much more reserved and respectful."

"I know, but you shouldn't feel bad about any of that earlier. It was for a purpose, and it, well it was pretty awesome."

Rachel blushed at his words as she shifted on the couch. "It was, but it was a little, I suppose a little fast, among other things." Finn nodded. "I guess it was a good thing_ Kurt_ called" she said heavily, staring at him.

"Yeah, I guess so" Finn grumbled, still angry at his brother's epic cock-blocking abilities.

"I think we should both probably cool down, don't you?" she said, looking down in shame. "We're friends right? So let's be friends."

Finn nodded as she shifted closer to him, nudging him in the side before resting her head on his shoulder as she hit play.

About two episodes in Finn heard a soft snoring in his ear and looked down to find that Rachel had fallen asleep on him. He should have figured, she stopped yelling at Damon a long time ago. Finn reached forward to stop the DVD and shut down the system before lifting the small girl into his arms.

Finn studied her face as he carried her to her room, amazed that he didn't trip. She really was so beautiful. He had realized that the very first day in Starbucks, but it was so much more obvious now. The smooth skin of her perfectly curved cheek, her plump full lips, those big brown eyes, he didn't even want to think of the beautiful parts of her he'd just been introduced to tonight, he'd definitely drop her. He didn't really know how he had ignored his attraction to her so well before. Okay, maybe it wasn't all that well hidden, but he had denied it.

He held her to him with one arm as he pulled back her sheets and laid her down. He walked over to her closet, pulling out an extra blanket to cover her with, knowing how cold it got in the apartment at night. He pulled the blankets up over her shoulders, and leaned forward placing a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"Goodnight Rachel" he said, quietly making his way out the door and into his room next door.

* * *

><p>A slight dip in his bed alerted Finn to a visitor. He opened his eyes to see the tiny brunette laying on her side facing him.<p>

"I couldn't sleep" she said simply. "I was cold."

She scooted closer to him, pressing her cold toes to his shin to prove her point. Finn wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him underneath the blanket. He ran his large hands up and down her arm and back, trying to warm her up when he felt her lips brush against his neck.

Finn swallowed thickly, "Rachel, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting warm Finn. Did you know that body heat is the best method? It's a scientific fact" she stated.

"Oh" he mumbled, feeling her tug on his t-shirt.

"Meaning I would get warm much quicker if our bodies were closer."

He allowed her to tug his shirt off, throwing it on the floor. She reached down to remove her own top when he finally found his voice again.

"Rachel, you just said that this was weird and we were moving too fast. Is this one of those chick things where you say one thing, but really mean the opposite? You're signals have been kind of throwing me."

Rachel shook her head as she climbed over him, straddling his hips for the second time that night.

"I did mean it, I still _do_. But...we both know that there's something more here" she said, motioning between their bodies. "I don't want to fight it, not right now."

Finn blinked, shocked at her words as she leaned forward, capturing his lips with hers. She kissed him deeply, plunging her tongue in his mouth as she fisted his hair in her hands. He rose up, holding her to him as he wrapped his arms around her, cradling her small frame closer to him as he lost himself in the feeling of her.

He dropped his lips to her neck, nibbling on her skin and drawing small moans out of her before he lifted her slightly, reacquainting himself with her chest. He gripped her hips pulling her closer to him as she reached for the waistband of his shorts. He leaned back and raised his hips as she slid back and pulled them down, sending his boxers flying over the side of the bed with them. Rachel looked down at his exposed form, then dragged herself up his body again as she reconnected their mouths.

Finn found his way back to her breasts, rolling her nipple around between his lips as he ran his fingers along the tops of her underwear. Rachel reached down suddenly, pulling the underwear off and tossing them with the rest of their clothes. She resumed her place straddling his hips as he pleasured her, gripping him tightly in her fist.

"God, Rachel."

She looked down at him, even harder than he had been earlier and begging for her. Looking straight into his eyes, she leaned over to the bedside and grabbed a condom out of the drawer.

"Holy shit" he breathed, never dropping eye contact with her.

She ripped open the packet and rolled the condom onto his length, smiling shyly at him.

"Are you ready?"

Finn nodded dumbly as Rachel took a deep breath. She rose up on her knees as he aligned himself with her opening, then almost painfully slow sank down on him.

"_Fuuuck_" he hissed, rolling his eyes back as he absorbed the feeling of her tight walls surrounding him.

"Uhhhhh" she whined, throwing her head back as she started to move over him. She rocked her hips back and forth slowly, scratching at his chest as he rose up again, mashing his lips to hers. Finn gripped her sides, helping her to move as his tongue explored her mouth.

"Rachel, you feel so good" he moaned, lifting her off of him before dropping her down quickly.

"Oh God!" she screamed, scraping her nails down his chest as he continued the pattern.

He clutched her hips tightly, possibly leaving marks as he moved her, thrusting up into her each time she came down. She gasped and moaned as he kept up his rhythm, sucking on her neck. "Rachel, oh God Rachel" he moaned out, his thrusts becoming erratic as he bounced her on top of him. He grunted as he felt her legs trembling. Her inner muscles constricted as she leaned forward, biting down on his neck as her walls fluttered wildly around him. The feeling, along with the bite triggered his own release as he emptied himself into the condom.

He released her hips, wrapping her up in his embrace as he pulled her forward in a hug, burying his face in her hair.

* * *

><p>Rachel laid in bed, covering her head with the blankets as she tried to block out the sounds coming from the other side of the wall. She had been woken by the sound of talking, and initially feared that she might be encountering her first burglar. Upon further investigation however, it became evident what the source actually was.<p>

Finn was having a sex dream. A sex dream starring herself according to his groans.

Though she was at first extremely turned on and even tempted to join him next door, she fought back the urge. It was wrong, on too many levels. She had made a mistake tonight, a mistake that she didn't know if she could fix.

Being so close to him, allowing the lines to blur so much had affected him more than she realized. She was making him question his sexuality, a second time in his life. And she was coming between him and his partner. She had never felt more guilty than she did right now.

She closed her eyes as the moans and groans finally stopped, being replaced by a familiar gentle snore. She rolled onto her side, clutching her pillow to her as she exhaled deeply. She hated herself for feeling this way, for being so confused and making him so confused in return. Finn was too good of a guy for her to come into his life and mess things up for him. She couldn't deny that their relationship was the best thing that had happened to her since she had moved here though.

She wished more than anything that she could make sense of this whole situation, that everything could be simple. Sighing to herself she took deep breaths, counting Tony awards in her mind until she finally lulled herself into a Finn-filled slumber.

_**Thanks for reading! Yes, I know I'm a tease! Don't hate me! Sexual tension is always fun!  
><strong>_

_** Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! I'll be updating soon as possible!** _


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Glee.**_

Rachel pretended to be asleep when Finn came into her room this morning to say goodbye. She knew she would have to face him this evening after practice, but for now her inner coward was happy to keep her eyes closed and face buried in the sheets. About a half hour after he'd left the apartment to hail a cab she dragged herself out of bed, got ready for the day and made her track to Starbucks.

She sat in the small shop, killing time before her rehearsal would start and she needed to be at the theater. Sitting in the small cushioned chair, magazine in hand she flipped to find a relatively new photo of herself and Finn in the gossip section. He was wearing one of her favorite plain black cotton t-shirts and a wide smile that even just in photo made her weak in the knees. From the outside looking in, they really did look like the perfect couple. They were staring into each others eyes like lovestruck teenagers, and he was even carrying her bag for her. She smiled to herself at the memory; she had spotted the paparazzi watching them and immediately asked Finn to carry her purse for her just to see if he would. He did, with hardly any hesitation and a beaming smile on his face.

He really was the sweetest man (no pun intended) that she had ever met. Anything she needed, or even just wanted he made it happen for her. He made her feel like a queen, and it didn't even look like it took any effort on his part. He was genuinely just that good of a person. Which is why she felt so terrible about all of the troubles she was causing him. She felt like they had a true bond, and even he himself had said as much last night, but the truth was he wasn't honest with her.

Not once in the time that they had known each other had either of them mentioned their past relationships, they only joked about their fake one. She always avoided the topic, hoping that eventually he would feel comfortable enough to open up to her about how he really felt. He hadn't yet, which meant that he didn't truly trust her. How can you alter your whole lifestyle for someone that you don't fully trust? Surely this was just a stumbling block for him. She was a decent enough looking woman, with an admirable physique, it would be easy for him to get confused about his feelings by showcasing a fake relationship and spending so much time with her. He deserved so much more than all of the trouble she was bringing him.

And then there was Kurt. Finn talked so highly of Kurt, and he truly did seem like a great person. To hear Finn tell it, Kurt had gotten him through some of the hardest phases of his life. How could she possibly think of coming between such a beautiful love story? She couldn't, she thought to herself. She cared about Finn, so much that she wouldn't want to do anything to compromise their relationship. Checking her watch she replaced the magazine and stood. Tossing her empty coffee cup in the garbage, she made her way out to the car, headed to the theater.

* * *

><p>Rachel smiled to herself as she made her way towards her car. Today had been without a doubt her best rehearsal yet. Warmups started off normally, though she seemed to have extra energy. Maybe it was the coffee, or maybe it was all the leftover jitters from last night. Whatever the case, the soared through the first few numbers with more pep in her step than ever before. At the start of her dreaded topless scene, she had been nervous, tugging on her shirt repeatedly and chewing her nails down to the quick as she waited for her direction to start. As soon as they received their cue though, unbidden the image of Finn sitting beneath her, eyes worshiping her body popped into her mind. All of the confidence from the memory surged within her, carrying her through the whole rehearsal.<p>

Shelby, the director had praised her performance, calling it mesmerizing and going on about how amazed she was with Rachel's comfortableness in her own skin. She was labeled 'a true performer'. Even Jesse, who seemed upset that for once he wasn't receiving all the high praise, followed her when they were done for the day.

"Mind if I accompany you to your vehicle?" he asked, coming up next to her.

"Sure" she said slowly, this was certainly new.

"You did a good job today Rachel" he said, "and you know I don't say that lightly."

"Thank you Jesse" she smiled, actually thanking Finn in her mind for his influence.

"I must say, I didn't think you had it in you. And your body is much more impressive than I had guessed at first glance" he noted, not-so-subtly raking his eyes down her frame.

Rachel rolled her eyes at the man and his excuse for a compliment as she walked further ahead of him.

"No, wait!" he called, gently squeezing her elbow to get her to turn. "I'm sorry. I tend to come off as a jerk sometimes, but I really didn't meant to offend you."

"Sometimes?" she asked, raising a delicate eyebrow at him and crossing her arms. "I'm actually having a hard time thinking of a time you didn't seem like a total d-bag."

"D-bag?" he repeated, grinning at her.

"Yes, a d-bag. I'm fairly certain that as an of age young male who certainly _acts_ like one, you should know what it means" she huffed.

"I can admit that I deserve that" he said, raising his hands in defense and stepping back from her. "I get a little...intense I suppose you could say. But I'm talented, I have enough self-confidence to say it proudly. I want my cast-mates to shine alongside, or well behind me though, so I often shove my opinions down their throats. How can we expect to win the big awards, or be appreciated for our work if we don't all put in everything we have, right?"

Rachel stayed silent as she absorbed his words. He really was right, if she was being honest he actually sounded like a male version of herself.

"I guess you have a point, but that still doesn't give you the right to be so unpleasant. I won't deny that you're talented, but maybe you should start to work on your people skills" she said sternly, turning from him again.

"I completely agree. Since you're so adamant, maybe you could educate me in the right way?" he suggested smoothly, shooting ahead of her to place a hand on her door handle.

"Excuse me?"

"Do you have any plans for tonight?"

Rachel laughed a little down in her throat. Was he seriously coming on to her?

"Why do you ask?" she said, looking up at the cocky man.

"I think you know" he smiled at her, flashing his perfect teeth. He actually was kind of handsome, when he was acting human at least. She wasn't stupid though, she knew of his reputation. He might be a total jerk to people, but that didn't keep him from making his way through women. She had been a witness to quite a few of the younger girls at the theater fawning shamelessly over him.

"Jesse, maybe you're not aware but I'm currently in a relationship."

"I'm well aware. Finn Hudson, isn't it?" he asked, leaning against her car as he talked.

"Yes, you know him?"

"I have heard of him, yes. I was surprised actually, I didn't take you as the type to find jocks appealing."

"He is not just a_ jock_, he's a very sweet man" she said defensively. "And I'm a woman of variety, not to be categorized under any type. I can be interested, and find favor with whoever I please" she finished with a huff.

"Even d-bag jerks?" he asked teasingly, drawing a small laugh from her.

"I don't know about that, I wouldn't push my luck."

"It's what I do best" he grinned. "Come on, I'm not that bad, am I?"

Rachel narrowed her eyes with a smile, "I can't be sure."

"Give me a chance to better my image then" he pushed, taking the keys from her hand to unlock and open her door for her. "Your boyfriend trusts you doesn't he? I won't try anything, I promise. We can go to a bar or something, hang out as friends and just get to know each other. You know, better my 'people skills' and all."

Oddly enough, she felt like she was cheating. Even though she and Finn weren't _actually_ a couple, this light banter, and slight flirting with Jesse made her feel kind of guilty.

But why should she?

He had his own secret relationship that he didn't feel the need to share with her, why shouldn't she allow herself to be open to new possibilities? It was probably for the best anyway, Finn was taken and she needed to open her eyes. It's not like she was super interested in Jesse, but he could serve as fun enough training wheels. She had said in the beginning of all this that she and Finn could have their relationship for the media, and keep their private lives for themselves. It was about time that she stopped torturing herself and did just that.

"Alright Jesse, count me in" she said, watching him pump his fist as he closed the door for her. She cranked her car and rolled the window down.

"Give me your number, I'll call you with details" he said, handing her his phone. She took it, punching in her name and number and handed the device back to him. "Great, I'll call you when I get home. See you soon" he smirked, waving as he turned to head for his own car.

Rachel backed out of her space and made her way towards her apartment with a grin. She rolled down the windows of her car and turned her radio all the way up, trying to pump herself up for her first night out without denying her intense attraction to someone she couldn't actually have, or being by herself and wishing that she had friends. She ignored the part of her that wished more than anything she had a real date with_ Finn_, and focused on her new-found independence as her phone started to ring. The grin faded from her face when she saw his name, replaced by the same nagging guilt. She quickly pasted the smile back on and filled her voice with as much enthusiasm as possible as she answered.

"Hi Finn."

"Hey Rach, are you out of rehearsal yet?"

"Yes, I actually just got out a few minutes ago. What's up?" she asked casually.

"Well, I'm just sitting around right now. Did you wanna hang out tonight? I just ordered the new map pack online, we could download it and play, or finish off our marathon or something" he offered.

She squeezed her eyes shut at his sweet words, but she couldn't cave again. She would never get anywhere like that.

"I actually have plans for tonight Finn, maybe we can get together tomorrow?"

"Oh. Oh, well yeah that's fine. I'll just, find something else to do. That's totally cool" he said a little dejectedly.

"Thanks for understanding Finn, you're such a good friend" she said gently. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, hope you have fun. Be safe."

She hung up the phone, ignoring the pang in her heart at his caring tone. She really hoped she was doing the right thing.

_**Calm down, deep breaths! Trust me, I have a plan! :)**_

_**Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are love!**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Glee.**_

Finn pressed end on his phone, but couldn't stop staring at it. That was weird; Rachel had never blown him off before. He'd been kind of antsy when she didn't immediately call him after her rehearsal, he had her schedule memorized and he was usually waiting by the phone for her call. They would usually go out on a 'date' or just get together at her place and hang out.

He finally put his phone down on the couch beside him as he thought about what he would do with his evening. Finn was a grown man; he didn't have to rely on her to make his nights complete. He could have plenty of fun without her. He needed a night to just be a man anyway, Rachel really did have him on a leash and it would be good for him to gain back some testosterone for the night.

Puffing his chest out, he got up from his place on the couch. He thought about getting online to play the game with the guys, he hadn't had a tournament in a while, but his gaming system was at Rachel's. There went that idea.

He walked into the kitchen to grab a bag of chips and a beer then made his way back to his seat. This was manly, junk food and beer. Now he just needed something to do. He threw his feet up on the table and picked up the remote control and flipped to ESPN, watching the highlights for a few minutes and sipping on his beer until he got bored. Sighing, he looked down at his phone beside him, mentally willing her to call back.

What could she be doing? She didn't really have any friends in the city, and she hadn't mentioned anyone coming down to visit or anything. Was she hiding something from him? She had acted so weird last night when he tried to talk to her, she looked like she had felt guilty or something, he never meant for her to feel that way. So he had let it go, just to ease her tension. It was obvious that the girl had self esteem issues for God knows what reason, but she must have some intimacy issues too. That's what he had thought at first, but now he wasn't sure. She was always kind of closed off, only allowing him to get so close and sharing so much of herself with him. Maybe she really is hiding something, he'd learned over time that women couldn't be trusted.

Finn frowned at his phone then turned away from it, turning the television off and standing. He paced the room back and forth, rubbing his temples in an effort to erase his jumbled thoughts. Finally the door opened, saving Finn from his internal ramblings.

"Finn, what are you doing here?" Kurt asked, walking inside and hanging his keys on the hook near the door. "Shouldn't you be out with your diva?"

"Nah dude, I can chill at home by myself and be totally fine. She doesn't own me" Finn muttered, picking up his beer to take a gulp. Kurt continued to stare at Finn, waiting for a real explanation. "She made plans without me tonight, so I'm on my own."

Kurt laughed at the exaggerated frown marring his brother's face before he moved to sit on the couch next to him. "Damn, you really do have it bad don't you?"

"This is ridiculous, I feel like my balls are somewhere in a jar at her apartment and I didn't even realize it" he groaned, sitting back down and leaning his head over the back of the couch. "What's wrong with me?"

"I think you might be falling in love Finn" Kurt said airily, sitting down and leaning his head back alongside his brother. "Isn't it wonderful?"

"What's with you?" Finn asked, finally noticing the goofy grin on his brother's face. "You should be teasing me and calling mom so you can harass me together."

"I'm in the same boat Finn. I think I'm in love with Blaine."

Finn sat up, taking a good look at his brother as he smiled. "Really? Dude, that's awesome."

"He's awesome" Kurt corrected. "He makes me feel, so free. I don't know Finn, it's never been easy for me to find someone, you know that better than anybody, but I really think he might be it for me."

"I'm really happy for you man, you deserve it. I hope I can meet him soon." Finn said, offering his beer to Kurt who actually took it for once. "Since when do you drink beer?"

"Blaine's a Natural Light fan" he smiled, tipping the beer back again. "It's an acquired taste I've learned."

Finn laughed at his brother as he stood, "I guess I'll just go get myself another one."

"Better yet, why don't you come out with us tonight Finn? It'll be good for you to get out, and you'll get to finally meet Blaine. But only if you promise not to give him the third degree."

"I don't know man, maybe I should stay here. Just in case, you know, Rachel…" he trailed off, looking towards his phone again.

"I'm not taking no for an answer Finn, this is a perfect opportunity. Rachel will be fine, and you're going to stop worrying about what she's doing. She's a grown woman" he chided, standing and turning Finn's head back towards him.

"Fine, but I'm keeping my phone on and if she calls I'm ditching dude. Don't start" he said gruffly, holding up a hand to silence Kurt's complaints. "She doesn't get out much, a night out is exactly the kind of thing that could take a bad turn for her. She doesn't really see danger, she just sees fun, new experiences."

"Aw, her knight in shining armor" Kurt cooed, pinching Finn's cheek. "I'm going to say alright because I'd hate to see her get into trouble too, but it's mostly because I'm dying for you to meet Blaine. You're going to love him Finn. You know, we actually met through you."

"How?"

"He's surprisingly a huge football fan; he approached me asking about you. I guess I'll be attending more of your games than I'd initially planned, Blaine's dying to go."

"That's awesome. I met Rachel through you and you kind of met Blaine because of me. It's some kind of weird symmetry, huh?"

"I would say so" Kurt grinned, standing as well. "Now that we've got this settled, let's get you dressed to hit the city! I can't have you meeting my boyfriend with dad jeans on."

Finn allowed the smaller man to push him towards his room before turning to look at him. He was radiating excitement, his eyes were glazed over and it wasn't from drinking. His brother really had found love.

"I really am so happy for you Kurt, seriously" he said, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder before pulling him in for a hug.

"Thanks Finn. I hope you can be this happy soon too" Kurt sighed, embracing him in a rare act of affection.

"Me too man, me too."

* * *

><p>Kurt was a lifesaver, this was exactly what he needed. Finn walked into <em>McKinley's<em>, a swank little hole-in-the-wall bar he'd been to a few times when he wanted to escape, following Kurt to a small table occupied by who he guessed was Blaine. He was a small guy, but bigger than Kurt. He had dark hair, kind eyes, and a multicolored bow tie that just screamed confidence. The kind eyes landed on Kurt in front of him, and his whole face lit up with a smile. Just like that he won Finn over.

The three men sat at a small table, off to the side of the small dance floor as they talked. It turned out that Blaine worked in the office building right next to Kurt's. After some subtle investigation Finn found out that he was financially stable, had been unattached for a suitable amount of time for Kurt to not be a rebound, he lived two blocks away from them, and he'd been a Jets fan his whole life at the urging of his father who wanted him to be straight. He had the same taste as Finn in a lot of things, like beer as Kurt had demonstrated back at home. He also was a super huge Walking Dead fan, and they both loved the Jets but hated the Yankees. Finn really liked this guy.

"I'm going to get us another round" Blaine announced, raising his hand to call over a waitress.

"Absolutely not man" Finn interrupted, placing a hand on Blaine's arm. "Tonight is on me" he said before giving their order to the lady. "You guys didn't have to invite me out tonight but you did. I could've been sitting at home driving myself crazy, but here I am with my amazing little brother and his increasingly more awesome boyfriend. I really needed this, so in return all drinks are on me." Finn held up his drink in the air, signaling for the other two to do the same. "To the first guys night of many!" he cheered, clinking bottles with them in a toast.

Finn lowered his drink, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as his brother leaned forward to kiss his partner. In an effort to give them a little privacy, he turned his head, his eyes landing on a stunning pair of legs standing by the bar. Doing a double take, he dragged his eyes up the legs, shifting in his seat to see the whole picture.

She was leaning against the bar, dressed in gold pumps and a tiny black dress that combined made her legs look like they stretched for days. The dress hugged her ass perfectly, making his mouth go a little dry as he tried to close his mouth. Her hair was cascading down in loose waves, flowing down and tickling her lower back. Dumbstruck, Finn's eyes stayed glued to the woman. The longer he stared, the more familiar that body seemed.

Finally he noticed there was a man standing next to her. They must be together, since he leaned over to whisper in her ear. Finn's hairs prickled in jealousy at their proximity. Wait, why the hell would he be jealous over strangers standing next to one another in a bar? He shook his head, trying to turn away just as the woman turned her head to reply to whatever the man had said to her. She brushed her her hair over her shoulder, finally exposing her beautiful face to him.

There, in all her glory, stood Rachel.

_**Hope you enjoyed! Again, don't freak out!**_

**_Good things are coming, Finchel will always be Endgame in my world._**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Glee or any of the characters. **_

"Holy shit" Finn breathed, tugging on Kurt's arm. "Dude, look."

Kurt turned his head, following Finn's eyes to the bar, his eyes widening when he saw her. "I can't believe it" he said in awe, "I've never seen her so well dressed."

Finn shoved his brother, attempting to stand from his seat as Kurt stopped him. "Finn, what are you doing?"

"Look at her, it looks like she's on a date! What the hell!" Finn cried. "Aren't we supposed to be fake dating? Does that mean nothing to her? She can't just run around with other guys behind my back."

"Finn_..._" Kurt scolded. "Have you told her how you felt about her yet?"

"Well not exactly...I was working my way up to it..."

"Then you have no right to intrude on her...whatever that is. You said it yourself, you're _fake dating_. Until you make a move she can do whatever she wants. It might be completely innocent anyway, you could be blowing this all out of proportion."

"I'm sorry, are we not looking at the same dress? I don't see anything innocent about that" he grumbled.

"Finn, stop." Kurt chided, finally seeing the face of Rachel's partner. "Well damn, that definitely explains things."

"What?" Finn asked, stretching his neck to see.

"That's Jesse St. James, her co-star. It's perfectly logical that they could hang out outside of the workplace."

Finn narrowed his eyes at the name of her partner. The same jerk that Rachel had complained about making her feel self-conscious the night before. Why would she be hanging out with him?

"What do you know about him? From the way Rachel usually talks, he's not the kind of guy she would just hang out with."

"Um, well, he's not the most popular member in the cast, he does have a bit of a reputation."

"As in?"

"He's known to be a bit of a womanizer...but Finn you know Rachel, she's a smart girl. They're probably just here as friends, talking over their roles."

Finn stood from his seat, having heard more than enough.

"Oh God" Kurt sighed, resting his forehead on his hands. "This isn't going to be good" he mumbled to Blaine.

"I feel like I should go get some popcorn" Blaine laughed, placing a gentle kiss on Kurt's forehead. "Calm down, you don't want to get worry lines"

Kurt immediately sat up, running his fingers over his face, afraid that said lines might have already started showing up.

"Oh!" Blaine cried, looking down at his phone. "I need to take this, I'll be right back okay?" he said, squeezing Kurt's hand before walking outside.

Finn approached the bar, coming up right beside his 'girlfriend' as he leaned against it. "Fancy seeing you here." Rachel turned, shocked registering on her face as she saw him for the first time. She choked a little on her screwdriver, recovering before she finally spoke.

"Finn, what are you doing here?" she asked, scanning the crowd until her eyes landed on Kurt. Of course.

"I could ask you the same thing _sweetie" _he said, placing an arm around her shoulder as he finally looked at Jesse.

"Jesse, this is my...Finn. Finn, meet Jesse." she mumbled.

"It's a pleasure, I'm sure." Jesse smirked, sticking out a hand to Finn.

Reluctantly, Finn released Rachel to shake the smaller man's hand, using as firm a grip as possible. He smiled as Jesse's smile faltered, watching as he tried to regain his hand back from Finn's death hold.

"I'll leave you two love birds to talk, I'm going to run to the restroom" he said, rubbing his hand as he turned away to walk to the back.

"What the hell Rachel?" Finn seethed as soon as Jesse was out of earshot. "What are you doing with him?"

"I'm having a drink with a friend Finn" she said coolly, bringing the screwdriver back to her lips as she avoided his gaze.

"A friend? Really Rachel? This must not be the same Jesse that you were complaining about, let's see I don't know...LAST NIGHT."

"I prematurely judged him. He's shown a much better side of himself very recently."

"Oh, that's convenient."

"Excuse me?"

"You flash him your boobs at rehearsal and all of a sudden he's a saint" Finn said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at her. "Real smart Rach."

Rachel's eyes widened at his words. "I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that. And it would be in the best interest of this friendship if you didn't go any further."

Finn bit the inside of his cheek as he stared at her. He couldn't believe she was being so naive and stubborn. "Rachel, I just don't want to see you get hurt. He's not a good guy, Kurt says-"

"Finn, I know what people say about Jesse, I've said some of the same things about him myself. But at least he's upfront about who he is, he doesn't pretend to be something he's not or hide it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Finn almost shouted in confusion, seeing Jesse finally making his way back toward them.

"Nothing Finn, absolutely nothing. I don't want to fight with you okay? You enjoy your night, and I'm going to do the same." She downed the rest of her drink before setting it down and pushing herself away from the bar and Finn. "Let's dance" she said, linking her elbow through Jesse's as they made their way to the floor, leaving Finn behind.

* * *

><p>Rachel stood in the center of the small dance floor, swaying her body to the quick tempo of the music. Jesse was behind her, hands atop her hips as she danced. She tried not to look in Finn's direction, and so far had been successful, but she couldn't quite block him from her mind. She shouldn't have been surprised, of course he would be out with Kurt. She had been monopolizing him for quite some time, they needed a night out. It was unfortunate that they ended up in the same place as she and Jesse, but there was nothing that could be done about it now. Maybe this would even be good for them.<p>

She continued to move, letting her body take over her senses as she fought to clear her mind. This night was supposed to be about having fun, and that's what she was going to do. She raised her arms in the air as the next song started, closing her eyes as she felt Jesse's breath on her ear.

"Uh-oh. It looks like your boyfriend has replaced you."

Rachel opened her eyes, shocked at Jesse's words. She knew Finn, and he hated to dance. But then again, if anyone could get him on the floor it would be Kurt. She looked around finally finding him, but instead of Kurt, a pretty blonde was bending over in front of him, sliding herself back up his front seductively.

What. The. Hell.

Rachel was livid, she turned to the table Finn had been sitting at looking for Kurt's reaction. There, sitting in the seat Finn had occupied was a small, dark haired man. He was chatting away freely with Kurt, both of them completely oblivious to what was going on on the dance floor. She turned her attention back to Finn, still standing in place behind the blonde as she ground her hips back into him. Rachel narrowed her eyes as she watched. His hands weren't gripping her hips like he had done hers, he was just standing there as the woman moved, hands midway in the air like he wasn't sure what to do with them.

Rachel shrugged, placing her hands over Jesse's on her hips as she turned her head from the pair. She ground herself against Jesse, not at all competing with the extremely well dancing blonde. She felt Jesse's grip tighten on her and slip a little lower, but she ignored it. They continued to dance until the song changed again, a slightly slower, more sultry song as Jesse spun her around to face him.

He linked her arms around his neck, his hands still resting on her hips as he leaned over to her ear. "Are you having fun Rachel?" She chanced a glance towards Finn and his blonde tramp before nodding her head at Jesse with a tight smile. As soon as she did, she felt his hand start to roam lower, and then lower until he was cupping her behind. "We could have even more fun" he suggested, his breath tickling the shell of her ear, making her shiver. Mistaking the shiver for one of pleasure, Jesse pulled her flush against him, bringing his mouth to her neck.

"Jesse, no stop" she said, pushing on his shoulders. His grip was too tight, he didn't budge as she stretched her neck, trying to get out of his grasp. "Seriously Jesse" she tried again, releasing a shaky laugh to lighten things up. "I don't think I want to dance anymore."

Suddenly Jesse was ripped from her. She blinked in confusion, looking up to see Finn holding onto Jesse by his collar. "She said to stop" he spat menacingly.

"I don't think that's any of your business" Jesse scoffed, jerking himself free of Finn's grasp.

"I would think so, considering that's _my_ girlfriend you had your filthy hands all over."

"Well you weren't taking care of her, somebody needed to."

Before she even really registered what was happening, Finn's fist snapped forward connecting with Jesse's face in a loud smack. Jesse stumbled backward into an approaching body guard, cradling his cheek in his hand as he stared at Finn with watery eyes. The broad bouncer grabbed both Finn and Jesse by the elbows, yanking the two men out of the bar as Rachel stared on in horror.

Taking a deep breath, Rachel finally realized that most of the occupants were staring at her as she collected herself. Even the blonde who was now rolling her body against a blonde man with an abnormally large mouth. Avoiding the stares, she took off towards the exit door, finding Finn sitting alone on the bench outside.

"Your ride left" he muttered, staring down at his shoes.

"I think that would have been an awkward ride home anyway" she sighed, coming to sit next to him on the bench. "Thank you...for that. It was very chivalrous of you, but you didn't have to do that. This is all my fault, you should be in there enjoying your night with Kurt." Finn looked up at her finally, about to speak when the doors came bursting open again to reveal none other than Kurt himself, along with the dark haired man holding hands.

"What was that Finn!" Kurt screeched, shooting towards him as the other man tugged on his elbow to keep him still.

"St. Dickwad was trying to force himself on Rachel. I wasn't just going to stand there."

"No! Oh my goodness, are you alright?" he cried, walking towards Rachel and taking her hands in his.

Rachel stared at the small man, glancing between him and the new addition to their group as he continued to study her.

"Is she okay? Maybe you should get her home." Kurt assessed, a little uneasy at the way she was staring at him.

"Who is this?" she finally asked, nodding towards the man.

"Oh, this is my boyfriend, Blaine" he announced, stepping back to link hands with the man again.

Rachel's eyebrows shot into her forehead at his words. How could he have another boyfriend? She turned to Finn, not detecting any anger or jealousy in his eyes when it finally dawned on her. Kurt must have a cover up too, to keep Finn safe. This was all just getting to be too much, she was going to go crazy from all the lies, and manipulation. She rubbed her temples, trying to soothe her racing mind. "Right. Of course it is."

"Rachel...what's wrong with you?"

"Oh nothing Finn, everything's just fine. It's so nice to meet you, I'm Rachel" she said with exaggerated cheerfulness as she extended a hand towards Blaine. "I'm surprised we haven't been introduced yet. I'm sure we'd get along swimmingly, we have _so _much in common. Here's an idea, why don't we schedule a double date soon? I'm sure that would be just cozy. Would you boys like that?"

Finn exchanged worried looks with Kurt as he took a step towards the small, fragile woman. "Sure Rach, whatever you want. Let's just get you home okay?"

"No" she said, putting a hand up towards Finn for him to keep his distance. "I really like you Finn, but this is too much for me, I'm going crazy. _This_" she said, waving her hands between the four of them, "is making me crazy."

"I don't understand Rachel, just talk to me."

"Oh that's rich coming from you!" she cried, finally releasing all of the anger and confusion that had been building inside of her. "You want me to open up to you? Be honest with you? Like the way that you're honest with me, or with anyone else for that matter? I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into" she said turning to Blaine. "Then again, maybe you get off on this stuff too. I did at first, until I realized I had gotten in too deep. I wasn't supposed to fall..." Rachel sighed as she locked eyes with Finn, resisting the urge to cry. "But not anymore, I'm sorry I just can't do this. Good luck" she muttered, storming away towards the curb to hail herself a cab.

"Rachel, what the hell are you talking about? Good luck with what?"

"With finding a new beard Finn!" she cried, turning to him throwing her hands up in the air. She was done with pretending.

"A _what?"_

"That's right, don't play dumb Finn. I figured it out a long time ago."

"Wait a second" Finn breathed, his face scrunching up in confusion. He replayed her words in his mind and rethought the last two weeks, all of the mixed signals, the weird behavior, and it finally hit him. "Rachel...you think I'm gay?"

_**Thanks for the read, Hope you enjoyed! **_

_**There's a big Winter storm coming in, so I wanted to get this chapter out before it hits, but hopefully I'll be able to update soon!** _

**_In the meantime, feel free to check out my other stores!  
><em>**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Glee. **_

_**I'd like to dedicate this, as well as all of my other works to Cory/Finn. The reason that I started writing in the first place, and my muse even though you're not here. Not a day goes by that I don't think about you big guy. **_

Finn stood on the sidewalk, mouth agape as he stared at her. He didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or scream at her. She really thought he was gay? After all this time? He blinked, unable to find words as the tiny brunette held his gaze. Finn turned his head, finding Kurt with his mouth hanging open as well before he burst into laughter.

"You're joking right? How much have you had to drink tonight?" Kurt asked her through his tears of laughter, hanging onto a very confused Blaine.

Rachel's nostrils flared as she turned to look at the small man. How dare they continue to make a fool out of her?

"Save it Kurt, I've had enough of this. I just hope that one day the two of you can come to terms with your reality." Rachel took off, wishing she had chosen more sensible shoes for tonight, these were really hindering her dramatic exit.

"Rachel, wait!" Finn finally called, reaching out to her once again. "You, I, you really are serious aren't you? You thought I was gay this whole time? Why would you even think that?"

"You think I didn't catch on to you and Kurt? You might do a good job at hiding it from the rest of the world, but not me Finn. Please, just don't lie to me okay? I've had it up to here, so just stop."

"No, I need you to listen to me! I'm not gay Rachel, I swear. I have no idea, and it makes me kind of sick to wonder where you would get that idea, but me and Kurt are Not romantically involved. We're brothers."

Rachel scoffed at him, turning her head to see Kurt nodding along with the new story. These two really knew how to push the envelope. Unfortunately for them, she was tired of playing the fool for them.

"Look Finn, you should be happy about this. You won't have to be confused about your feelings for me anymore, you can focus on Kurt and Kurt alone. I overheard you last night, that dream you had about me." She watched as Finn's cheeks pinked. "Now I'll be out of your hair, its for the best and you know it." She took a deep breath, turning to take off again as she felt his hand on her elbow.

"Rach-"

"Finn stop! Just let me go." She screeched, allowing the tears to start to form in her eyes.

He dropped his hand, struck with shock as a taxi finally pulled up to them. He watched as she climbed into the cab, not giving any of them a second glance as it took off into the night.

Finn stayed rooted to the spot, staring after the taxi long after it was gone until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned towards them, coming face to face with Kurt. "What just happened?"

"I have no idea Finn. I have to say, that was the weirdest situation I've been apart of in quite some time. And that's saying something, we live in New York."

"I know it's not really my place, but...are you just going to let her go?" Blaine piped in, taking a step towards the two men.

"I don't know man. I don't really know what else I can do. Rachel's stubborn, like way more stubborn than typical women stubbornness. She's not going to listen to me, she's confused." he sighed, scrubbing his hand over his face.

"You really don't know where she got the notion that we were partners" Kurt asked, watching as Finn shook his head no. "I suppose you really were more right than you knew when you said she treated you like a best friend. You were her Me." Kurt said thoughtfully. "I'm ashamed of myself, I should have seen this coming. I blame you for keeping the details of your relationships private from me."

"You're not helping dude" Finn said, too defeated to argue.

"Fine. You said you really cared about her right?" Finn nodded, turning to lean his head against the wall of the building. "Then you have to fix this. I don't know if you noticed, but she said that she cared about you too. She said she 'didn't mean to fall'." Finn lifted his head, turning to stare at his genius of a brother as he realized that he was right.

"She did say that didn't she?" Kurt nodded as Finn started to pace. "So, what now? What do you think I should do?"

"You need to go get her" both men said in unison.

* * *

><p>Finn flew up the stairs to Rachel's apartment, rapping on the door repeatedly until she finally came.<p>

"I know it's you Finn, I told you I don't want to see you!" she called through the door.

"Rach, just give me a chance, please? This whole thing has been about a lack of communication right? You're upset with me for keeping things from you? Give me the chance to tell you my side of the story." There was silence on the other side, until he finally heard the lock turning and the door swung open.

Her hair was still falling loosely in beautiful curls, her dress replaced with an over sized t-shirt, and her favorite puffy pink bedroom shoes adorned her feet. She was gorgeous, all but for the dark circles around her eyes from her tears. He hated himself for knowing that he was the cause of them.

"Talk."

"Okay. First, I want to say, I'm so sorry Rachel. For all of the confusion I've caused you, and for making you cry tonight. I swear I never meant for that to happen." Rachel wrapped her arms around herself as she looked down. "If you'll just give me a chance to prove myself to you, I want to make all of this right."

"Are you sure you shouldn't be making things right with Kurt first?"

"Stop. I'm not gay Rachel. Looking back on all this, I can kind of see how you might have misunderstood things, but that's all it is; a misunderstanding. I didn't handle this situation the right way at all."

"Finn, don't-"

"No I'm serious Rachel, I swear to you that I'm being one hundred percent honest with you right now. Anything you want to know, I'll tell you."

"Why did you do all of those things with me? The massages, and the spas and mani-pedis?"

"I did those things because I wanted to be close to you Rachel. I wanted to spend time with you, and those were the things that you enjoyed doing, so I did them. And, they actually felt pretty good, that was just an added bonus though."

"Sure Finn. And the Vampire Diaries? You just became super interested in that to spend time with me?"

"Yeah, I did. I spent more time actually watching you than I did the screen. I watched you light up when Stefan and Elena would kiss, or Damon would show his good side. I watched you punch the air and pretend you were helping them escape the old vampires, and gasp and clutch my shirt when something scary happened. All of that was only interesting because of you."

Rachel was slightly taken aback at his words, but soldiered on anyway. "Why did you and Quinn Fabray break up?"

"She cheated on me" he said simply, distaste coloring his tone as he recalled the situation that for so long he had tried to forget. Oddly enough, looking down into the eyes of this tiny, beautiful woman, he didn't feel the slightest bit of the sting that the memory used to bring him.

"That's it?"

"That, and she got knocked up then tried to pin the baby on me. I lived with her for a while, preparing myself to be a father until I finally realized that she was using me." Rachel's eyes softened more as she listened to him, never having heard this before. She had no idea he had endured that kind of thing.

"Oh God Finn, I'm so sorry." she said gently, taking a step closer to him to grab his hand. "I had no idea."

"No one did, I made it a point to keep it quiet. I was embarrassed, you know? As soon as I realized what was happening, I moved out. I didn't have anywhere to go at the time, so I moved in with Kurt and I've been there ever since."

"Of course" she said, releasing his hand to walk further into her apartment away from him.

"He took me in Rachel. He didn't judge me, or make fun of me for making the mistakes I made. He helped me to move on, and get myself back on track after everything happened. If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't have my spot on the Jets right now. That's why I've always talked so highly of him, and we've been so close. He's been my rock for a long time. "

"Really not helping your case right now Finn."

"Rachel, my mom married his dad when we were in middle school. I was being serious when I told you that he's my brother."

"You expect me to just believe that?" she asked, placing her hands on her kitchen counter as she stared at him.

Finn knew he only had this one shot, so he did the only thing he could do. He pulled out his cell phone, dialing the number and turning it on speaker phone.

"Finn honey, is everything okay?"

"Hey mom, I'm fine I just wanted to talk to you."

"That's sweet dear, I've actually been expecting your call. I want to hear all about this little lady me and Burt keep hearing about on the internets. Your brother hasn't told us much."

"My brother?" he asked, eying Rachel purposefully.

"Yes, Kurt your brother. Are you sure you're okay sweetie?"

Finn watched the comprehension cross her face and he smiled, knowing that he was finally in the clear. "I'm great mom, I swear. I actually called to tell you about Rachel."

"Oh honey, what's she like? Kurt did say she's a magnificent performer, we want to come down to see her show when it opens if that's okay with you."

"That would be awesome mom. She'll blow you away, she's incredible" Finn said, staring into Rachel's eyes as he spoke. "She's the most amazing person I've ever met. She has the voice of an angel, and deep brown eyes that make me feel like I'm flying when I look at her. She's honest, and passionate, and beautiful, and I can't tell you how happy I found her."

"Oh Finn, that's beautiful honey. And she feels the same way about you, I'm sure?"

"I'm not sure mom. I kind of messed things up with her, and I don't know where we're going to go from here. All I know is that I hope she does feel the same way about me as I do. I hope that she can see how much I care about her, and know that no matter what, she's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I think I'm in love with her."

Rachel's tear gates broke as she listened to the words flow from his mouth. She couldn't argue with the honesty in his tone, the light in his eyes as he stared at her the whole time. She took a step forward, reaching up to cup his cheek in her hand.

"Oh dear, I wish you the best of luck okay? You just keep-"

"Thanks mom, I really appreciate you listening. But can I call you back tomorrow, I really need to go." Finn hung up the phone as he looked down at her, unsure of what exactly he was supposed to do next.

"You're not gay."

"Nope" he answered, wiping away her tears with the pad of his thumb.

"And you love me."

"More than anything in this world." Rachel smiled up at him. "And what about you, how do you feel?"

"I love you too Finn." He beamed down at her, scooping her up into his arms and bringing her lips to his in a sweet kiss. The fireworks exploded behind his eyes as he kissed her, holding her as close as possible to him. "Well" she said, breaking apart for air. "This is an interesting turn of events."

"I know" he smirked, "and you didn't even have to show me you boobs for me to be all sweet and open and stuff."

Rachel giggled as she punched him the shoulder lightly. "Oh I see, so this has nothing to do with my breasts?"

"Okay, maybe a little" he smiled, as she pulled his head back to hers in a fiery kiss.

"Let's go to my bedroom" she breathed, clumping his hair in her hands.

"Yeah?"

"I think we have some unfinished business."

Finn wasted no time, carrying her into her bedroom and lying her down on the sheets. He kicked off his shoes as he crawled on top of her, settling himself between her thighs as he brought his lips back to hers. He plunged his tongue into her mouth as she pulled him tighter to her.

"I take it we're not moving too fast this time" Finn said against her lips, bringing his hands up to cup her breasts over her shirt.

"Not fast enough" she breathed, reaching down to unbutton his pants. She undid them, shoving them down his body with her toes until they were completely off. Finn reached back to grab them, pulling a condom from his back pocket before tossing them. Immediately he reached down, pulling her shirt up and over her head before tossing it as well. He brought his head down, placing kisses around her breasts before taking a nipple into his mouth to roll around.

"Oooh" she moaned, arching herself into him, blindly reaching to pull off his shirt as well. He refused to disengage himself from her as he pulled off his own boxers, as well as her underwear. He savored the feel of her as she moaned, tugging on his hair.

"Are you sure you want to do this Rachel?" he asked, knowing that if they kept this up any longer he might not be able to stop.

"I'm sure" she whispered, kissing him on the nose. "I trust you Finn, I'm sorry I wasted so much time not trusting you."

He smiled, bending down to connect their lips again as he opened to condom packet, rolling it down onto his length.

"Just be gentle okay?" she said, looking down at his generous endowment. "It's been a while."

He nodded, as he rested his weight on his forearms and leaned down to place a sweet kiss on her forehead. Rachel whined out loud as he pushed into her, closing her eyes as she gripped his shoulders tightly. He waited a second, letting her adjust to the feeling of him stretching her before he started to move.

"Finn" she breathed as he lowered his head to rest in the crook of her neck. He pulled back slightly, holding until she rocked towards him before he thrust back in smoothly. He kept up a steady rhythm, rocking his hips into hers gently until she started meeting his thrusts.

He pumped stronger, building up his speed as she writhed beneath him, clinging to him as tightly as possible. Finn brushed her hair out of her face, bringing one of her hands up to kiss as he continued to move inside her, pushing the both of them towards completion. He groaned as he felt her inner muscles massaging him, squeezing him as he kept up his rhythm.

Her head whipped around on the pillows as he felt her start to tense beneath him. Finn reached down, circling her nub with his fingers to help her reach her peak. Rachel screamed as the world disappeared around her, lights shooting before her eyes as she climaxed around him, Finn joining her just a few pumps later.

"Holy God" she breathed, turning her awestruck gaze to him as he rolled off of her. "That was...amazing."

"You're amazing" he smiled, wiping the sweat from his brow. He caught his breath and stood from the bed to dispose of the condom, then made his way back to her. Finn sat down on the bed next to her, sitting up slightly.

"So...what now?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I think, maybe we should start over" she said. "No more lies, a clean slate."

"You know, I think that sounds perfect."

"Hi" she smiled, extending a hand to him. "I'm Rachel Berry, Broadway star, and currently unattached."

"Nice to meet you Ms. Berry" he grinned, taking her tiny palm in his. "I'm Finn Hudson, also unattached, and completely straight."

Rachel giggled as he pulled her towards him, wrapping her up in his embrace and placing his lips on hers again.

_**The End! I really hope you all enjoyed this story! It was a lot of fun to write! Reviews are love!**_


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